


Loveburn

by TheEternal (XxmaniacxX)



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), Kinda, M/M, also, kinda fluffy if you squint, with a happy ending?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-06-02 11:09:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19440229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XxmaniacxX/pseuds/TheEternal
Summary: Aziraphale may not be like the other angels, but he is still an Ethereal being, Holy and whatnot; and Holy burns Hell away. What would happen if their skin lingered for more than a second? Would Crowley stand the pain?





	Loveburn

**Author's Note:**

> I read Good Omens almost four years ago and fell in love with it instantly! The show was soooo good i just had to write something. And, even though I personally pictured Aziraphale as Richard Ayoade, Michael Sheen does a great job and, now, i can't help but picture him now when I write.

His well manicured hands flickered through the pages. Dusked, yellowing books. Strong scent of glue and dust. Love. Hot cocoa. Aziraphale's bookshop laid timelessly in it's corner of Soho. The "closed" sign put nosy humans off, and the whole  _ Armaggedidn't _ kept Heaven away. He had always enjoyed the calm of a cold november on Earth, but something was wrong that afternoon. He could  _ feel _ it. A nervous, self-destructive wave of energy swarmed in through the front door before he could finish processing it.

"Crowley?" the angel inquired, trying to recognise the featureless silhouette in the dimly lit room. 

_ Of course it's him. Who else would it be, honestly?  _

"Angel, i have to talk to you" rang dry, words mushing together as one big hiss. 

Reeking of wine, hair in a messy bun, sunglasses sliding off, stained jacket, muddy boots. Crowley was a  wreck . And he knew it, he knew how desperate he looked.

"Oh dear, has something happened?" worry seeping through every word. Book slapped shut and left at the table.

The slender figure stopped right in its tracks.

"Yeah. YOU!" 

His stereotypical sway had left him standing in an odd position, and he seemed to be shaking with every breath. The shouting had made that more noticeable. 

The demon opened his mouth, gesturing as if he had forgotten how to talk.

"You and your… your… your glowing face and stupid smile!"

Taken back, Azi blinked harshly.  _ What upset him this much? _

"Crowley, i don't think you're thinking straight."

He paused, trying to get across his message as politely as he could.

"Why don't you sober up, and we can discuss-"

The other man-shaped being roared.

"NO! I can only say this whilst drunk, please. Please, shut up, Angel. For once, shut up."

He was displaying a kind of vulnerability he'd never seen before. And that desperation in his tone told him that he had to listen.

"jolly good, then. i'm all ears for you" he spoke softly, flashing a reassuring smile and trying to stop the anxiety the situation had thrusted upon him.

" I'm…"

Crowley gulped. Tongue dry. Mind hazy. Knees threatening to give in. But he had to let it out.

" 'm in love with you!"

Time froze

"I've always, i've always been!"

_ What? _

"Ever since we went for oysters in Rome, or even before that…"

The demon's mouth kept spouting words, but he had shut out any and every sound out of his brain. Had he just heard correctly? Or was this another of those weird hallucinations he got through the moldy ink and glue?

His ethereal brain was spinning faster than light inside a halo. For a start, Crowley was oozing  _ love _ , which was very telling of the genuinity of his feelings. Nonetheless, he was too drunk for his own good. Had he been a human, he would've died from alcohol poisoning already.

_ What if he doesn't mean it? What if it's all a big practical joke?  _ buzzed inside his skull. Doubt sneaked in from every angle.

_ You're an Angel! and he's a Demon! How on Earth could this work??!  _ shouted his conscience, belittling him for loving  _ "the enemy". _

Silence.

It took them both by surprise. Those yellow eyes were staring back at the sky-blues, intently. Waiting, not so patiently, for an answer. 

His metaphorical heart was on the table, freshly ripped out, still beating. And he was hoping, almost  _ praying _ , that his dear angel would grab it. For the first time in millenia, he was dreading the words of his  _ partner _ . 

"My dear, I…" he mumbled, flustered at his own thoughts. 

Crowley contorted, which meant he had sobered up or was wincing in pain. Either way, Aziraphale had had enough of this cautious back and forth.

_ " Fuck it " _

He lunged tenderly towards Crowley, grabbing the lapel of his jacket for leverage. The height difference hadn't been a problem until then. Their lips crashed. None of them knew how kissing worked, but the sensation was oddly pleasant.  _ Strangely soft skin, for a demon. _ He wondered for a moment, before being pushed back. 

Crowley's skin was on fire. It had started as a tingling sensation at the clash of their skin, but it had spread in matter of seconds through the rest of him. The cells of that body were decaying, and he was painfully aware of it. 

Aziraphale paralyzed. Horror plastered in his expression. 

_ Their dream, turned into a nightmare. _

Thick beads of sweat were bathing his counterpart. Some carried skin and hair, others were hot red. It reminded him of a candle left unsupervised. 

"Angel! Angel! I'm  _ melting _ ! can you  _ do _ anything?" he screeched with a raw and hoarse voice, "I can't get discorporated  **now** ! "

His eyes were frantic as he collapsed on the floor.

"I don't know what's happening! I can't miracle away what I don't understand!" Wild, unadulterated panic. Wide eyes. He was focusing so hard on Crowley he forgot how to breathe for a second there.

"I'm melting for fucks sake, what more do you need to know?!?" 

He was contorting, trying to shed layers of clothes in an attempt to cool himself. But the heat came from inside. His core was burning away something else besides his body.  _ That's what holy water must feel like _ passed through his mind, not doing anything to console himself.

"Let's…. Let's…" Aziraphale spun around in his heels, trying to grasp his own thoughts. Anything at all that could be useful.

"Let's do it at the same time, okay? That way, if one miracle doesn't work, the other will!" He finally blurted out, clinging onto the only solution he had been able to come up with.

It took the melting demon an agonizing amount of strength to click his fingers, but he did it. Angel clicking right behind him.

And it  _ stopped _ .

Relief washed down like a wave along his tall frame. No strength left to move, he just spread his arms and enjoyed the wooden floor against his back. Crowley closed his eyes, letting go a breath he didn't know was holding. 

Aziraphale laid down on the floor next to him, breathing picking up just to slow down again. A recap of the last 20 minutes flashed through his mind: the panic, the worry, the awkwardness, the kiss. 

_ Oh god, the kiss! _

He turned to his friend, whose face was perfectly in order now. No more bits out of place. Or glistening in sweat. His gaze lingered, but just for a moment, before reverting to the ceiling.

"Crowley?"

He didn't know where to put his hands, so he interlaced the fingers, resting on his chest.

A hum of acknowledgement bounced back.

"You know how the Holy  **_burns_ ** the Hellish out of objects? Like, holy water can cast a demon out, in exorcisms, or even kill them? Well, what i'm trying to say is…"

"That your kiss almost killed me?" smug expression, but a flat tone. He dreaded the idea.

"Not intentionally!"

The Principality flushed, acting grateful that the other had his eyes closed.

"I'm sorry, i wasn't thinking" he whispered, mostly to himself. 

_ You put the only other person in the  _ **_entire universe_ ** _ who understands you, at risk, just because you were overwhelmed with  _ **_emotions_ ** _?  _ _ Pathetic! _

Crowley seemed to have read his mind. Or maybe he understood how the gears worked behind those eyes. Either way, he knew what to say to soothe him.

"We've always touched through layers of clothes, you couldn't have known what your Holiness would do to my skin. You had no idea."

Before the angel could protest, he added forcefully but somehow remaining soft:

"There's no way this is your fault"

Both stayed there, motionless, for hours. Neither wanted to talk about what had happened today, or even try to cover it up with a fancy dinner at some even fancier restaurant. 

The atmosphere of the bookshop had changed. There was still  _ love _ in the air, and a forgotten cocoa by the desk. But a musk scent lingered, along with fruity notes of fear and guilt. 

It had taken him several hours to work up the courage to move and he couldn't speak. Still, Crowley's hand slithered slowly until he could almost touch Aziraphale's. A kiss might have been too much, but he thought  _ I can withstand a burnt palm.  _

The angel removed his hand at the first possibility of touch, his compassionate soul aching at the thought of causing his  _ beloved _ more harm. _~~(Because they were each other's "beloved"- he pondered for a moment- in the sense that the latin word "~~_ _~~ amata" meant. ) ~~ _

"I don't want to hurt you" he whimpered, tears threatening to fall. 

"Do you want me to leave?" The demon asked, without a hint of anger or disappointment. Today's revelation had been taking quite a toll on them. Especially on  _ his _ angel. Perhaps they could process it better, on their own.  


But all they wanted was to melt into each other. Or at least to be able to be in each other's embrace. They felt as if God had dealt them a bad hand, and she kept smiling as they lost round after round.

"No" he whispered, loud enough to be heard but still remain private. He miracled a glove with a vague flair, and grabbed Crowley's hand. 

"We'll find a way" 

**Author's Note:**

> :)


End file.
